02/08/2014

One-time highflying Fort Lauderdale lawyer Scott Rothstein accused Charlie Crist of selling judgeships while serving as Florida governor during courtroom testimony this week in an unrelated case as reported by Marc Caputo for the Miami Herald: "Crist had tapped Rothstein to the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Fourth District Court of Appeal and the Broward Circuit Court," and "under oath, Rothstein portrayed the former Republican governor, Crist, as someone who essentially sold 'a few' unspecified Broward County circuit court judicial appointments in return for political contributions."

Predictably, Crist denies the allegations as he runs to get his old job back, and his campaign dismisses Rothstein as a convicted felon with no credibility who is looking for a reduced sentence as a cooperating witness with federal prosecutors investigating political corruption in South Florida. Rothstein ran a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving his law firm as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors, and got fifty years in prison for the crime.

No doubt Rothstein is a fraudster but at least some of his allegations in other matters have proven true with corroborating evidence.

For example, Rothstein cooperated with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

And Crist is hardly in the position to challenge another's credibility. The former Governor is aptly called Charlie Hypocrist in the Sunshine State because he's a political chamelon and unprincipled opportunist who changes his parties and positions more frequently than Sybil changes her personality.

03/08/2013

The defendants allegedly bilked timeshare owners across the nation out of $5 million by "claiming to have
buyers for their unwanted vacation rentals" but "federal authorities
have been unable to find a single instance in which [they] actually lined up the purchase of a timeshare."

Among those charged is Pasquale "Posh" Pappalardo who "would boast about having
ties with organized crime and twice had meetings with a representative
of the Gambino organized crime family to discuss timeshare resale
operations" according to federal prosecutors.

The telemarketing company operated out of an "unmarked Fort Lauderdale storefront sandwiched between a men's bath house and a dry cleaner," and "bank records show that among the people who received payments from the
company was Roberto Settineri, a Miami Beach wine merchant who the U.S.
Attorney's Office said has acted as an intermediary between a Sicilian
Mafia crime family and the Gambino crime family in New York" as previously reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel.

Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in an unrelated matter involving convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein.

09/16/2012

Apparently she's a bit like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, and she must have the precious.

Kim Rothstein, the wife of convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, has been charged by federal prosecutors in Fort Lauderdale, FL with "conspiring to hide more than $1 million in jewelry from federal authorities," and "among the items was a 12.08-carat fancy intense yellow diamond ring" as reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel.

Scott Rothstein ran a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving his law firm as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors, and he alleged pervasive public corruption and organized crime in South Florida during deposition testimony last December "arising from the bankruptcy of Rothstein's shuttered law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, and various
lawsuits filed by investors" as then reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel:

"We were involved in public corruption with politicians," said Rothstein in transcripts of his Dec. 14 testimony released early Friday evening. "We were involved in public corruption with law enforcement. We were involved in activities with mob-related individuals. We were involved in activities involving the physical threats of other individuals. We were involved in the public corruption side of purchasing of political positions. We were involved in the manipulation of the judiciary."

Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison but likely will get a reduction based on his cooperation with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The feds should declare South Florida a racketeering enterprise and put the region under receivership if Scott Rothstein is to be believed.

12/28/2011

The feds should declare South Florida a racketeering enterprise and put the region under receivership if former Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein is to be believed.

Rothstein was convicted of running a 1.2 billion Ponzi scheme which involved using his law firm as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors, and he alleged pervasive public corruption and organized crime in South Florida during deposition testimony "arising from the bankruptcy of Rothstein's shuttered law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, and various lawsuits filed by investors" as reported by Jon Burstein for The Palm Beach Post:

"We were involved in public corruption with politicians," said Rothstein in transcripts of his Dec. 14 testimony released early Friday evening. "We were involved in public corruption with law enforcement. We were involved in activities with mob-related individuals. We were involved in activities involving the physical threats of other individuals. We were involved in the public corruption side of purchasing of political positions. We were involved in the manipulation of the judiciary."

Rothstein alleges he paid more than $1 million to dirty cops, judges and politicians, and that he was able to stave off investigations from local law enforcment by employing off-duty cops to his personal security detail. Apparently some of the boys in blue from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and Broward Sheriff's Office were randy fellas who copped freebies from a stable of hookers maintained by Rothstein.

However, the feds won't let Rothstein publicly name names: "a federal prosecutor sitting through the deposition prevented the disbarred attorney from answering the questions," and "that could be an indication that federal authorities believed Rothstein's answers could jeopardize ongoing investigations."

Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison but likely will get a reduction based on his cooperation with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

It's funny but who ever would suspect that a lawyer could be so dirty? Aren't lawyers officers of the court or something, and doesn't the bar monitor the profession? Rothstein surely must be an aberration among lawyers.

12/01/2011

Two former employees have been charged for their alleged roles in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme run by Fort Lauderdale, FL attorney Scott Rothstein which involved using his firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors as reported by Susannah Nesmith for Bloomberg: "William Boockvor, 66, was charged today with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and helping Rothstein's scheme by preparing false documents purportedly from TD Bank (TC), where Rothstein's firm held about 38 trust accounts," and "Marybeth Feiss, 42, one of Rothstein's administrative assistants, was charged with violating federal election campaign laws and conspiring to defraud the U.S. by helping to bundle more than $1 million in contributions to the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain."

Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison but likely will get a reduction based on his cooperation with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

It all makes you wonder how many other politically-connected lawyers may have ties to the mob down in South Florida.

09/06/2011

A timeshare resale company which operated out of a Fort Lauderdale, FL storefront has been accused by the Federal Trade Commission in a civil lawsuit of bilking $5 million from those who hoped to unload their vacation rentals, and it allegedly made some payments to wine merchant Roberto Settineri as reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel.

U.S. and Italian authorities suspect that Settineri is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia, and last year he was sentenced to four years following his conviction in a scheme to destroy evidence and launder money for Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein.

In a press release announcing the action the FTC says the company and its operators promised consumers "that they had buyers lined up and waiting" but "only after making a hefty up-front payment did the consumers learn that there were no buyers, and that it was nearly impossible to get their money back from the defendants, many of whom have long criminal histories" including alleged masterminds Pasquale "Posh" Pappalardo and Joseph "Joey" Crapella.

07/27/2011

Francesco Marino Mannoia, a former member of the Santa Maria di Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia who turned state's evidence to expose heroin trafficking by the Gambino crime family, returned to Italy after living for the last sixteen years in the United States under the Witness Protection Program.

However, the pentito is having trouble adjusting to his new life in the old country, and within the last three months has twice tried to take his life as reported by AGI News.

The Gambino crime family still maintains its ties with the Santa Maria di Gesu clan. Indeed, in March 2010 the feds busted Miami, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom they suspect is an intermediary between the two groups. Settinero pleaded guilty last August "to a conspiracy charge of scheming to shred financial records for Ponzi con man Scott Rothstein" as then reported by Jay Weaver for the Miami Herald.

Video Of Roberto Settineri's March 2010 Arrest (Settineri is the first arrest shown):

Following his arrest Rothstein cooperated with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the March 2010 bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced last November to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Rothstein also raised campaign money for a slew of politicians, and reportedly has been spilling his guts on the tawdry process to investigators.

It all makes you wonder how many other politically-connected lawyers also are connected to the mob.

05/26/2011

Four more individuals soon will be arrested for their alleged roles in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme run by Fort Lauderdale, FL attorney Scott Rothstein which involved using his firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors as reported by Jay Weaver for the Miami Herald: "Three former employees of his now-defunct firm and one other person will likely surrender this week on one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the sources said."

Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison last June but likely will seek a reduction based on his cooperation with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced last November to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Maragni claimed that he could get former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to reduce the sentence of a relative of a cooperating witness with the help of a contact he described as a lawyer, according to sources and court papers. * * * Maragni was secretly taped discussing the scheme with the cooperating witness, who gave the gangster $20,000 in November as the first of three planned payments. After Maragni said he could not deliver the bribe money to his contact for several weeks, the witness asked for the money back and Maragni agreed, court papers state.

Crist claims ignorance on the entire matter; however, it certainly would be interesting to learn the identity of the supposed contact to whom Maragni allegedly was referring in order to determine whether there is a dirty lawyer in the Sunshine State or the suspected mobster simply was blowing smoke: "'It could have been bravado or maybe there's something to it,' a law enforcement official said."

In 2009 then Governor Crist returned $9,600 in contributions to his campaign for the U.S. Senate that had been made by Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein and his wife Kim. Last June Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison for running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme which involved using his firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors. Following his arrest Rotherstein cooperated with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced last November to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Memo to politicians: be careful about the lawyers with whom you associate.